How to Use String Lights For A Kid's Bedroom

LED Christmas Lights Offer Perfect Year-Round Décor for Childrens' Rooms

Looking for a new way to brighten up your child’s bedroom? White Christmas lights or other string lights are a fun and creative way to illuminate kid’s bedrooms throughout the year. LED string lights are easy to customize, inexpensive, and typically last for several months or years at a time. No matter the shape or size of the bedroom, these lights are sure to help create a cozy and playful atmosphere.

Which String Lights Are Best for Year-Round Decor?

There are a variety of string light products available to suit your decorating needs, but it can sometimes be tough to choose lights that work well year-round. Warm white Christmas lights offer a soothing, comfortable ambiance to bedrooms and are easy to pair with other children’s bedroom decor. Battery-powered LED Christmas lights are another popular bedroom decor option and provide considerable flexibility when arranging a display. If you are looking for something different, consider single-color red, green, or blue Christmas lights instead.

No matter which type of string lights you choose to decorate with, you’ll want to make sure they are LED. LED lights are brighter, have more color variety and temperatures, and last longer than incandescent bulbs. In addition, LED Christmas light strands are often safer for children than traditional Christmas lights due to their significantly lower lead content and heat output. However, you will still need to take a few precautions to keep lights out of reach for a toddler or baby’s room. Find out more about Christmas safety precautions for younger children with this guide for toddler-proofing your holiday celebrations.

Where to Hang String Lights in Bedrooms

There are many opportunities to decorate with string lights in children’s bedrooms. The twinkly effect of these lights is sure to set a comforting and relaxing ambiance within the room, no matter where you choose to hang them. You can gather some inspiration for putting up these lights from the examples below, but you may also find a few chances to branch out and make your bedroom string light displays truly unique.

Sleeping Area or Bed Canopy

A string of white LED Christmas lights around the bed or sleeping area is a fun alternative to the typical bedside lamp. Wrap the string of lights around the edge of the headboard to create a localized effect, or hang the lights high up along the ceiling to illuminate the entire room. Make sure to plug in the lights with an extension cord containing an on and off switch that your child can easily reach.

If there is a canopy above the bed, there are many additional ways to get creative when using string lights to decorate this area. Keep the lights around the outside of the canopy, or drape them across the top to make a new twinkly light fixture. If it’s difficult to find a way to plug in the lights connected to the bed’s canopy, you may want to consider battery-powered string lights instead of the more traditional options.

Alongside Signs, Posters, or Other Wall Decor

Warm white Christmas lights are great for brightening up or highlighting any other wall hangings in your kid’s bedroom. Posters and signs are usually the easiest wall decor to hang string lights around, though there are sure to be plenty of additional options depending on the room’s other decorations. When hanging lights around posters or other paper or wood items, check to make sure you are using LED lights. Traditional incandescent lights heat up quickly and are significantly more likely to create a potential fire hazard.

Bedroom or Closet Doorways

Wrapping string lights around the edge of a doorframe is one of the simplest ways to create a glowing effect for the entire bedroom. Colored lights work well for this scenario- you don’t always have to stick with white. You can also arrange string lights in a similar fashion to provide an alternative lighting solution inside a walk-in closet.

Reading Areas and Bookcases

Traditional white LED Christmas lights are bright enough to serve as a light source for a reading area in your child’s bedroom. Consider draping a string of Christmas lights along the edges of a bookcase, or next to any other bookshelf decorations and toys. An overhead canopy with string lights is also an excellent option for this space and helps make the reading area its own zone within the room. If you are interested in creating this effect elsewhere in your home, check out our guide to setting up string canopy lights.

Around Mirrors and Dressers

Hanging colored string lights around the sides of dressers or wall-hanging mirrors is another opportunity to brighten up the bedroom space. Mirror lighting is particularly popular for practical reasons beyond decorative appeal and removes shadows from the mirror’s reflection. Standing mirrors with battery-powered LED lights are a pleasant centerpiece but are more common in teenagers’ bedrooms than younger childrens’ rooms.

Play Area Lighting

Illuminating the play spaces within kid’s bedrooms is easy with LED string lights. Multi-colored or other non-white Christmas lights work well here and provide a fun and creative look for this space. You may also want to investigate some of the fun star or lightbulb shapes available with LED string lights, or look into other Christmas decorations that are equally as fun and enjoyable. Christmas lights are great for play areas at any time during the year- there are no rules.

Decorating With Battery-Powered LED String Lights

Battery-powered string lights offer many additional decorating options for children’s rooms when compared to traditional Christmas lights. These lights provide outstanding flexibility for designing decor that adds a charming touch to any child's room. Battery-powered LED lights will shine bright for many hours before needing a change of batteries. Here are a few creative lighting options to get you started.

• Cloud Night-Lights: Embed battery-powered LED lights in a large cotton-puff cloud to cast a serene and gentle glow across your child's room. More Info: Cloud Night-Lights
• Mason Jar Monsters: Does your child thrill to the chill of kind-of-scary décor? Then making Mason jar monsters will be great fun. Just decorate Mason jar lanterns with ghoulish faces, and set them aglow from within with battery-powered LEDs. More Info: Mason Jar Monsters
• Night-Light Art: Instead of applying brush to canvas in creating a work of art, apply battery-powered lights to the canvas. Just glue LED micro-lights to a stretched canvas frame in an artistic pattern of your child's creation. More Info: Night-Light Art
• Mason Jar Fairy Lanterns: Add a wire handle to a colored Mason jar, insert battery-powered LED lights, and you'll have a delightfully charming fairy lantern. More Info: Mason Jar Fairy Lanterns

And Don't Forget… During the holiday season, you can use battery-powered LED Christmas lights for their original purpose - as Christmas decorations! It's a safe and fun way to help your kids get into the spirit of the season (not that they need much help with that!).

Where to Get Christmas Lights for Year-Round Decorating

Putting up LED Christmas lights is easy, inexpensive, and safe. LED string lights provide kid’s bedrooms with a warm ambiance at any time during the year and are sure to give your child an opportunity to decorate creatively.

Christmas Designers is happy to provide parents and families with Christmas LED lights year-round. For more decorations and design tips, check out our blog and YouTube channel.